Kacey Musgraves CMA Censoring Not Only Wrong, But Ineffective
The black eye of the 2013 CMA Awards may not have been an over-the-top performance by some pop country stud or maven, but the choice by ABC to censor a line from the Kacey Musgraves song “Follow Your Arrow” that goes “roll up a joint.” As Kacey performed her latest single, the clearly-edited audio did little to shield the ears of impressionable listeners, and did more to pique the curiosity of viewers, while eroding the message of the song itself.
According to the USA Today’s Nashville correspondent Brian Mansfield, the decision was not the fault of the CMA’s, but of the broadcaster ABC. “A former CMA executive director calls the bleeping of ‘joint’ in Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Follow Your Arrow’ ‘a bad decision by the ABC censor,” Mansfield tweeted out during the presentation.
Many viewers and fans are calling the decision a double standard, and so is Kacey Musgraves herself who after the presentation said, “I guess for some reason people feel the need to censor that word, but they leave ‘crack’ in.” Seeing how the “crack” line is delivered with a derogatory tone, and the “roll up a joint” line isn’t, this is likely the reason the censor decided to leave it in the song. The “joint” line of the song is also being edited by many country radio stations playing the single.
Where the true double standard may lie is with other country songs that infer much more heavy language, but get past censors because they don’t actually say the words. For example, Tim McGraw’s recent single “Truck Yeah” clearly swaps the word “fuck” for “truck,” and this can be clearly understood as the implication by adolescents and adults alike.
Though we may have reached a point where pot references in popular music are more about marketing than message, in Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow,” the message is to be yourself, and the “joint” line is chased in the first two choruses with “or not,” meaning she’s not necessarily endorsing pot use, but encouraging individuals to be themselves.
And in the end, curious viewers took to the internet in droves and “Follow Your Arrow” saw one of the biggest surges for songs on the night. The song sat outside of the iTunes Top 100 before the performance, and then surged to #29 after, making it one of the biggest gainers of the night.
Kacey Musgraves went on to win the CMA for “New Artist of the Year.”
November 7, 2013 @ 2:00 pm
Well, you know, you can’t sing about smoking weed, you can only sing about drinking and driving your truck!
November 7, 2013 @ 6:28 pm
Unless you’re male. Only then can you sing about weed (as long as you use an euphemism for it! 😉 ) all you want! =P
November 7, 2013 @ 2:10 pm
She is such a breath of fresh air for mainstream country music. This is a lady I’d actually like to roll up a joint with.
November 7, 2013 @ 2:22 pm
This is absurd. With the liberals pushing to legalize marijuana and have more rights for homosexuals, it seems like the word “joint” shouldn’t be an issue. Especially for a network that airs shows like Scandal, which covers an extramarital affair with the president.
November 7, 2013 @ 5:43 pm
Pfft it’s also the same network that airs a little show called “Nashville” where everybody on the show screws everyone else on the show!!
November 7, 2013 @ 7:11 pm
“With the liberals pushing to legalize marijuana and have more rights for homosexuals, it seems like the word “joint” shouldn”™t be an issue.”
Problem: country music is the most socially conservative genre in all of American music. It has always been resistant to the socially liberal agenda.
November 7, 2013 @ 2:36 pm
Really makes me mad that they had to censor a part of the chorus. While they have Luke Bryan talking about “that real good feel good stuff” in his jacked up pickup truck, when we all know what he means, and gyrating his hips like Miley Cyrus.
On top of that, they have Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood talking about “sexting”.
So yea, there’s definitely a double standard here.
November 7, 2013 @ 6:26 pm
Don’t forget Eric Church boasting of how their women get hot and their leather get stained when they ride them in the pouring rain! 😉
November 7, 2013 @ 6:37 pm
I have absolutely no idea what that means, but it sounds smelly, and I hope they released a product very soon to help with that.
November 13, 2013 @ 11:45 am
please tell me those aren’t actually Eric Church lyrics?
November 13, 2013 @ 12:16 pm
Ummmmmmmm………….errrrrrrrrrr…………….hmmmmmmm……………that is to say……… =P
November 7, 2013 @ 5:09 pm
You need to remember that Disney is the parent company to ABC and they have a family reputation to uphold. I love the fact the song spiked up the charts. Kacey needs to thank the Mouse for the publicity.
November 8, 2013 @ 9:16 am
And yet Carrie and Brad talked about “sexting.”
November 7, 2013 @ 6:24 pm
Sadly, in the end, both her (otherwise) great performance and victory for “New Artist of the Year” was nonetheless overshadowed by her widely-viewed lack of graciousness (of which I myself unfortunately concur) following the announcement of Miranda Lambert being the repeated victor of CMA’s “Female Vocalist of the Year”. =/
Musgraves is having a rough day with the media. Not that I take most of these sensationalist “news” outlets seriously by any stretch, but when you have countless gossip sites calling Musgraves out on her less-than-flattering non-verbal reaction to Lambert’s victory, it doesn’t look good for Musgraves and is effectively overshadowing all that makes Musgraves so refreshing to the scene.
And as I said earlier in the live blog thread, while I dislike how overblown this truly has become, I nonetheless believe Musgraves indeed reacted unprofessionally and should have known better.
November 7, 2013 @ 6:43 pm
First off, this was the first I heard of this. And though I may not have my nose in every corner of the internet, I’ve been here pecking away all day in post-CMA mode and hadn’t seen anything until I went looking.
Now that I’ve seen it, I honestly have no idea what the hubbub is about. Could she have looked more gracious? Maybe. But good gosh. Tilting at windmills in my opinion.
November 7, 2013 @ 6:53 pm
It is to the extent that Miranda Lambert herself (in reaction to Eric Church winning “Album of the Year” earlier on) and others have reacted in less-than-gracious terms. It’s hardly a rarity in the industry, let’s get that reality out of the way.
At the end of the day, it still makes her look unappreciative and self-centered. Heck, Musgraves’ own Facebook fan page is teeming with less-than-flattering comments calling her out on this. Yes, some of them are so-called “trolls” surely that stormed over from, perhaps, one or two Miranda Lambert fan-clubs or via Perez Hilton and other lame sensationalist gossip sites. But then again, some of them were articulate and came from some of her own followers as well.
This will surely be long forgotten in two weeks time. Still, this was her opportunity to introduce herself to a MUCH broader audience………….and it didn’t help that her debut to many now appears to be such a botched opportunity.
November 8, 2013 @ 3:57 am
I don’t think it’s fair to judge a two-second camera shot as a sign of someone’s character, for good or ill. It really speaks to the aritifice of the entire telivised award show concept that one is expected to perform a “reaction” in a particular way in order to remain in people’s good graces. Besides, she hasn’t even had a chance to explain herself at this point.
A lot of people also criticize Taylor Swift for her seemingly phony reactions on awards programs. Which would people prefer, a genuine bummed out reaction or a transparent, plastered-on smile?
Or as someone else said, maybe she was just stoned. 😉
November 8, 2013 @ 6:21 am
“It really speaks to the aritifice of the entire telivised award show concept that one is expected to perform a “reaction” in a particular way in order to remain in people”™s good graces. ”
Yep.
I watched a clip of the award presentation after hearing about the kerfuffle. Seemed like her reaction to Miranda Lambert winning was not objectionable (Polite applause. She probably didn’t expect to win.) and I was wondering what the big deal was. Then I saw that during Lambert’s praising of each fellow nominee that the “moment” was caught on camera. Maybe she thought Lambert was being overly gracious in a forced way. You know, artificial. Those thoughts came to my mind, anyway.
November 8, 2013 @ 6:33 am
Maybe she just had to fart?
November 7, 2013 @ 8:02 pm
Her non-reaction could’ve been due to a number of reasons. Maybe she didn’t like Miranda’s overpraising of others compared to her. I’m surprised by the praise she gives Taylor just because her music is so pop and the opposite of herself. Maybe this was her first show and she didn’t know how to react. Maybe she wasn’t feeling great at that moment. Maybe she was wanting to get the f out of there and roll one up.
November 7, 2013 @ 10:35 pm
When I saw Kacey Musgraves expression it just made me laugh. The girl is new to all of this and I don’t think she quite has the hang of these award shows and their cameras everywhere. Next time I’m sure she’ll be more mindful of her expression just like every other celebrity there.
November 8, 2013 @ 8:21 am
It’s called disappointment. While some others can put on a better facade, should we have expected anything less from someone who has proven to be a straight shooter as Musgraves has?
At the end of the day, I couldn’t give a crap less if she flipped a double bird at the camera…her passion for her craft makes her enjoyable, and the great music that she’s put out is enough for me to say that this is much ado about nothing.
February 20, 2014 @ 3:22 am
I’m pretty sure her reaction was upset cuz the song that won mrs shelton the award was mamas broken heart an in fact kacey is the one who wrote that song but she gave it to mrs shelton. So prolly just mad she gave that song up
November 7, 2013 @ 6:43 pm
This incident disproves your contention that singing about marijuana has become conformist. That might be the case in pop or rock music and in certain demographics, but there is still a long way to go before the general country music audience accepts lyrics promoting marijuana.
November 7, 2013 @ 7:40 pm
I don’t think it disproves or proves anything more than there’s a censor somewhere at ABC with a stick up his ass. It may prove the commercial potential of pot references, but who knows what impact the song would have had if it wasn’t censored.
November 13, 2013 @ 7:24 am
I had to come back to this, even though it’s a few days old. Yesterday my local radio station – the one censoring Kacey – played Jamie Johnson’s High Cost of Living completely uncensored. Cocaine and whores and eight balls and all.
November 13, 2013 @ 9:51 am
So maybe there’s a double standard because she’s a woman? Interesting.
Though I know Eric Church’s “Smoke A Little Smoke” received an edited version.
November 13, 2013 @ 10:09 am
I don’t remember Eric Church having an alternate version on this station for Smoke A Little Smoke, though they do play an alternate for Creepin’ (caffeine and nicotine instead of caffeine and cocaine). All I can think is that Jamey’s song is all about how bad those things are, whereas Kacey is saying “just do it!”
I don’t know, it just seems arbitrary.
November 7, 2013 @ 7:09 pm
It’s actually pretty funny. The follow up “…or not.” Sounds like a direct reply to the fact it was silenced. She sings it with a little laugh in it too. Is the incident dumb, yeah, something to get worked up about…probably not.
“I don’t smoke marijuana, but I like people who do…..easy to entertain.” Jeff Tweedy (probably slightly butchered)
November 7, 2013 @ 7:48 pm
She seemed really annoyed about something or uncomfortable the whole night. It seems highly likely something was going on that was upsetting her in some way and we have no clue what that is. Maybe she’s dating someone and had a bad fight the night before for all we know. Considering how they act at such events has such a big effect on their career, it’s odd she didn’t rise above whatever was being on.
November 7, 2013 @ 8:08 pm
I forgot to post the dating thing above but it was one of my first thoughts during the show. Or maybe she was unhappy about the censorship.
November 7, 2013 @ 8:16 pm
I second this hunch, and it would also vindicate her of the now-notorious “look” when Miranda Lambert won “Female Vocalist of the Year” last night. Even during the photo-ops she was seen absent of a smile.
Like many who’ve emerged to fame before her for the first time, in fairness, she probably felt overwhelmed trying to process her rapidly growing fame; as though just yesterday her single “Merry Go ‘Round” was just released, and she woke today to find herself at the Bridgestone Arena nominated for six Country Music Awards. I surely get that.
Of course, the excuse doesn’t fully hold. After all, regardless of all my misgivings about Florida-Georgia Line, their rapid ascent to commercial success has come in about equally as short a time as Musgraves, and while it is plain to see Musgraves is obviously most serious about her work and achieving a broader mission of offering lyrical substance to the genre, I can nonetheless see how it’s not attractive when she often looked like she wasn’t having any fun, while Florida-Georgia Line, even in all its banality and stupidity, nonetheless looked like they were having the time of their life so you can at least tell they believed what they were selling and even had fun selling it.
I’ll still be rooting for her, but I’ll be just as quick to acknowledge that she largely botched an opportunity last night to appeal and appear attractive to a broader mainstream audience (and I say this mindful of the reality that “Follow Your Arrow” had one of the larger bounces on the composite iTunes chart following the CMAs). I think it would be wise for Musgraves to clear the air and explain what’s heavy on her heart, because so many will likely be more than sympathetic.
November 8, 2013 @ 11:15 am
“…she largely botched an opportunity last night to appeal and appear attractive to a broader mainstream audience.”
Really? Is two seconds on camera such a big deal that it trumps in importance her New Artist of the Year award and acceptance speech, her performance of “Follow Your Arrow,” the fact that she was wearing a vintage dress previously owned by Kitty Wells, and all the other face time she got? I feel dirty to even talk about this subject, and am disappointed that this is the hot comment topic to hijack a story that is supposed to be about the censorship she was a victim of. To me, this is media looking for online hits. I haven’t seen anyone broach what may have happened when the camera turned away. To me, it looks like she’s paying rapt, respectful attention, and probably acknowledged Miranda with a smile later. She felt awkward because the CMA’s are stuffy bullshit and she’d just been censored. I think it endears her if anything.
I will say this though. I continue to feel like the opportunity Kacey Musgraves symbolizes continues to be fumbled by her management, her label, and possibly herself. I think the fact that she has found this much success despite poor decisions shows just how much her music resonates with people. But from picking songs, picking singles, and managing her career, everything could be second guessed at this point. Her label must really be pushing her behind the scenes to get this much involvement, and this many nominations.
November 8, 2013 @ 11:55 am
I’m hardly thrilled by the exaggerated fallout myself. It has gotten so overblown at this point and I too feel dirty talking about this as well; conflicted personal feelings on her reaction aside.
But make no mistake: there IS a reason we’re talking about this here. Like it or not, this “look” has garnered more than just pathetic attempts for “online hits” as you eloquently and correctly termed it. Even before most so-called “news” and gossip sites picked this up, you won’t believe how many visited Kacey Musgraves’s Facebook Fan Page just to express their disappointment about her “look”. And by the looks of it, you can’t even dismiss all of them as so-called “trolls” either. Some of them were among her own fans.
That sort of visceral reaction was very reminiscent to me of the fallout following Blake Shelton’s comments for some preposterous reason. Which is absurd, obviously, but I honestly got the same vibe based on the raw emotions and the manner in which so many offered a piece of their minds through social media. And though I maintain my personal aforementioned beliefs about her disposition Tuesday evening at that moment, I sure as hell also believe the reaction and the way it has been articulated across social media has been pathetically exaggerated and she NEVER deserved this kind of rebuke.
The reason I brought this up is simple: because it was indeed one of the more talked-about moments exiting the CMAs. Not because I personally endorse all the humiliation and embarrassment besot on her, but because it couldn’t be ignored and I felt it is (often reluctantly) the responsibility of many here who are either music journalists, critics and/or commentators to take the pulse of these situations and fathom WHY and HOW these kind of instances take place. It was never intended as adding more propane to the fire.
November 8, 2013 @ 12:20 pm
As for your latter point, I’m inclined to agree.
I’ll also add that I can’t quite recall the last time I’ve seen a newcomer in country music that did not resemble part of the well-lubricated “machine” get as aggressively hyped and promoted as Musgraves has. Of course I’m glad it happens to be someone who is marked by a fresh perspective, an air of intelligence and a willingness to push boundaries………but on the other hand the degree of hype that has been pushing her can’t help but feel reminiscent to that of Lana Del Rey in popular music (who I have mixed feelings about), or the long-forgotten alternative singer/songwriter Sandi Thom (who proved to be much ado about nothing despite the industry shamelessly forcing “I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)” down the throats of listeners in 2006.
Now, obviously, the latter comparison is unfair in that Thom had minimal depth to begin with and it was quite clear consumers didn’t give a damn about her. But what I will say is that Musgraves has this sort of Lana Del Rey-esque cult appeal surrounding her. I say that not meaning to imply their music mirrors each other (because in most respects, it clearly doesn’t, and Musgraves clearly has the greater depth of the two)……….but because they are both propelled by heavy hype that (overall) hasn’t been matched in terms of commercial returns in the domestic market (just to male a qualifying statement, it has surely sold decent all things considered, but when you have this degree of hype surrounding it, the returns can’t help but appear a little more underwhelming.)
Think about that for a moment. Brandy Clark’s “12 Stories” has received acclaim that strikingly mirrors that of “Same Trailer, Different Park”……………and it debuted at a comparatively weak #28 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart (it barely charted the Billboard 200 at #197). The contrast between the way Musgraves has been pushed and the way Clark and Monroe have is UNMISTAKABLE.
But, hey! As long as it is surrounding someone who actually has a lot to say and bless us with, I’m all for it! What do you say you do this more often, Music Industry? 😉
November 7, 2013 @ 8:55 pm
Bummer. I got stoned and completely spaced watching the CMA’s.
November 8, 2013 @ 5:59 am
I got stoned and I missed it
I got stoned and I missed it
I got stoned, and it rolled right by…
November 8, 2013 @ 1:15 pm
lol, shel silverstein, I was going to post that that but I thought it was too obscure. Nice to see somebody else knows it.
November 8, 2013 @ 1:07 am
disgusting, im burning her cd
November 8, 2013 @ 8:21 am
It’s called disappointment. While some others can put on a better facade, should we have expected anything less from someone who has proven to be a straight shooter as Musgraves has?
At the end of the day, I couldn’t give a crap less if she flipped a double bird at the camera…her passion for her craft makes her enjoyable, and the great music that she’s put out is enough for me to say that this is much ado about nothing.
November 8, 2013 @ 8:57 am
This topic seems boring. The CMA’s were on a major network during prime time. It’s reasonable to assume that for ratings a major network in this time slot wouldn’t want any controversial drug references. I think the CMA’s should be a family friendly show.
An Interesting topic would be The Obamacare skit. Even though late night talk shows and Saturday Night Live have now made fun of Obamacare for over a week now, for some reason doing the same thing on the CMA’s was major news. The most interesting thing was the crowd reaction and I wish they had show more of it. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are hardcore liberals and both of them looked really uncomfortable. Taylor Swift (a big lover of the Obama’s) looked oddly confused like she had just woken up from surgery. She didn’t just sit there and smile, she looked very confused and flustered with her mouth open. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert seemed to be laughing pretty hard.
November 8, 2013 @ 9:22 am
Remember the big deal everyone made of Faith Hill’s shock face backstage when Carrie Underwood won? This is very similar.
It took some PR and time before she lived that one down. Every move you make in the public’s eye does not go unrewarded.
Natalie Maines has alot to do with this hyper vigilance and hyper sensitivity. Did you look at the emotionless faces the cameras panned to during ‘obamacare’?
Time stopped and no one moved. They’re scared to pieces over making a wrong move that will invite criticism and falling sales. This is a tough game and you’d better play by the rules while the camera is rolling.
One slip of the tongue, one frown on the face…you are considered a sourpuss and a sore loser. Does that affect voting in the future…ummm…maybe.
November 8, 2013 @ 10:12 am
I just felt way more uncomfortable hearing Blake Shelton sing a line about make-up sex… And whatever Luke Bryan sings.
November 8, 2013 @ 3:35 pm
Or Florida-Georgia Line sing about the Fireball Genie whispering temptation (and probably Illuminati conspiracies for all we know) into their ears! 😉
November 8, 2013 @ 10:50 am
The censorship kind of proves the whole point of the song that no matter what you do someone will be mad at you.
As far as radio stations editing the song, they really weren’t given a lot of choice. The company that provides music for my station only sent the edited version. I had to pull the album version out of my personal music collection to get it on the air unedited.
November 8, 2013 @ 11:29 am
I am sure glad I didn’t tune in to this awards show.
It sounds like it had a lot of petty drama.
November 8, 2013 @ 5:08 pm
I completely agree with the articles content, Trig, but why has everything for the last few months been “Kacey Musgraves this, Kacey Musgraves that”? Not that I represent the majority, but I just don’t find her that impressive. And she also seems a bit like a b-word in her interviews (and it takes a LOT for me to think of someone as such).
November 8, 2013 @ 7:21 pm
Kacey Musgraves is a hot button issue in country music right now. I don’t select the news cycle, I just try to follow it with topical stories. She recently released an album, she was nominated for 6 CMA’s, she’s in the center of the whole “pot in country” thread, and for whatever reason she’s the hot button issue post CMA’s. And I think I’ve been very fair and honest with my coverage of her, both positive and negative. This same argument was made last year when Taylor Swift’s name kept coming up because she released and album and was in the center of the whole Billboard chart change embrolio. In sure soon the news cycle will shift and Kacey won’t be featured as much, and it will be someone else that is the hot button artist.
November 13, 2013 @ 10:26 am
I believe her song writing will carry her through the storms. If she doesn’t care about being center stage or as picturesque as Miranda….she will be just fine.
November 16, 2013 @ 3:18 pm
Whatever happened to stand for something or fall for anything? Sure reflects a destructive society that chooses whatever chaotic desire, even over kids in a marriage. And a bunch of whiney victims surprised their life is a mess. mad at God
May 29, 2014 @ 12:32 pm
She is a horrible influence. I’m glad they bleep the word. Someone has to take a stand against weed. I’m tired of it being glorified. This world is going in the wrong direction. End of story